Following the 1-0 win over Tottenham yesterday, Chelsea embark on the pivotal 10 days of their season heralding unbreakable team spirit at Stamford Bridge as the key to the assault on a historical quadruple. Having beaten Arsenal to win the Carling Cup in February, Jose Mourinho's side are at Valencia in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final in two days' time and meet Blackburn on Sunday for a place in the FA Cup final in May. They then resume their quest for a hat-trick of Premiership titles at West Ham on Wednesday week.

First comes the trip to the Mestalla where Chelsea must overcome the away goal scored by David Silva in the 1-1 draw. 'I thought we did all right in midweek,' says Ashley Cole, who was rested for yesterday's home game against Spurs. 'If we can go there and get the win then we'll go through. Everyone looks at the fact that they've got their goal, but in football you don't go out to draw.' Cole also believes the Chelsea defence will be able to protect a lead. 'Their strike was a great shot, but JT [John Terry] and Ricky [Ricardo Carvalho] dealt with David Villa very well at Stamford Bridge. If we can do that out there then hopefully we'll get the goal.'

Last week's crowd problems in Rome and Seville will add to the focus on the trip. Cole, who played there for Arsenal, is conscious of the hostile atmosphere that awaits in Valencia. 'It's a tough place to go, but these are the kind of games you want to do well in. We did it in Barcelona and scored two goals [in a 2-2 group game this season] so I don't see why we can't go and get two on Tuesday if we need to.'

Chelsea's season has been characterised by a refusal to be beaten, with the late equaliser that prevented Tottenham's progress in the last round of the FA Cup last month and the winner four minutes into injury time at Watford last weekend in the Premiership the most recent examples. 'That's what makes champions, to come back when you are down,' Cole adds. 'It's OK when you are up 4-0, but it's when you're not playing well and still able to pick up the results - that's the sign.'

Their campaign has also been blighted by the spat between Mourinho and owner Roman Abramovich and injuries to key players. 'At times it has been stretched,' admits Cole. 'When Joe Cole, Petr Cech, JT and the rest were out, it was hard for us. Michael Essien's out now, so we've never had a full team. But at least Joe is back and hopefully we can push on for the rest of the season.'

At the start of the season Mourinho insisted on a squad of only 19 recognised outfield players. This caused the sale of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Hernan Crespo and left Chelsea with just two frontline strikers - Didier Drogba and the misfiring Andrei Shevchenko. The loan of right-back Glen Johnson to Portsmouth also meant defensive cover was thin for a backline with only three proven centre-backs and Khalid Boulahrouz has found it difficult to deputise for Terry and Carvalho, with Essien chosen for the vital games against Spurs and Porto.

Then there was the fall-out between the manager and billionaire owner that culminated in a dispute over a reined-in financial policy that blocked the Portuguese buying in the January transfer window when a central defender and a striker were needed. Did Mourinho tell the squad then that the team that had to dig in? 'No. It's just the players he's got,' Cole says. 'John Terry will put his head through a brick wall for you and Lamps [Lampard] the same thing, so I don't think anyone needed to motivate us any more. We knew as players we had to win games.'

However Chelsea fare over the next three games, Salomon Kalou, who scored the vital goals against Spurs and Watford, is conscious that the man who brought him to Stamford Bridge in the summer from Feyenoord could leave. 'We're going to see what will happen. Right now he's here so I'm more focusing on the next game.'

If Valencia are beaten then Liverpool, who take a 3-0 advantage into their return leg with PSV Eindhoven at Anfield, would surely be Chelsea's opponents in the semi-final, a repeat of the 2005 tie that Rafael Benitez's team won. 'We have to beat Valencia first,' Kalou adds. 'But every time we have to score a goal or make a result we always fight until the end of the game. So when we go to Spain it's the same and I know then we will win.'